


The Florist, and then everything that happened afterwards

by Cammerel



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Florist Harry, I watched all three movies in a single sitting, M/M, Side Charlie x Eggsy but it’s all over and was a bad relationship anyways, Some mild inspiration from Bridget Jones, The saga of Virgin!Harry fanfics continues, Virgin Harry, more of that in the future, no regrets, sry I can’t get over that headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-10 01:37:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16460957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cammerel/pseuds/Cammerel
Summary: “I know you’re emotional, but I’ll ask you not to sour the lilies with your foul mood.”“Sorry.”Harry glances back at him, turning and placing his hands on his hips, “That’s quite alright. Perhaps you could vent a little while I prepare an arrangement?”“Sure,” the young man holds out his hand then, “I’m Eggsy, by the way.”“Harry Hart,” Harry takes his hand, turning his back and immediately making his way towards the orange lilies.





	1. Chapter 1

Weekday mornings were always slow for Harry, giving him time to put together a few rush orders, fill any of the online purchases, and start the morning off with only a few customers coming in to have a look around, some asking questions as they went.

He’s halfway through his morning coffee, taking a break between orders when a young man all but storms through the door, hands balled into fists before slamming down his bank card.

“‘Ow do I passive-aggressively say ‘fuck you’ in flower?”

Harry lifts his brows, resisting the urge to allow the sliver of an amused smile play on his lips as he sits up straighter on the stool, “I beg your pardon?”

The boy shuffles his feet, “It’s for a worthy cause, trust me.”

Harry glances at the couple by the front door and motions for the young man to follow him into the back, speaking as he stands, “Significant other or-”

“Not anymore,” the young man says, voice tight like he’s just taken in a breath of air, “Fuckin’ wanker.”

“I know you’re emotional, but I’ll ask you not to sour the lilies with your foul mood.”

“Sorry.”

Harry glances back at him, turning and placing his hands on his hips, “That’s quite alright. Perhaps you could vent a little while I prepare an arrangement?”

“Sure,” the young man holds out his hand then, “I’m Eggsy, by the way.”

“Harry Hart,” Harry takes his hand, turning his back and immediately making his way towards the orange lilies.

“E’s a right prick,” Eggsy says then, and Harry’s not sure, but he thinks he hears the young man stomp his foot, “Sorry, sorry. God, I dunno if I can watch my mouth.”

Harry chuckles, “I’ll let that one slide.”

“I honestly can’t believe I settled for ‘im in the first place,” Eggsy mutters, voice getting louder as he speaks, “Horrible temper, worse manners, constantly looks like e’s smellin’ shit under ‘is nose.”

“Eggsy-”

“Sorry, guv, sorry again.”

Harry nods, gathering a few geraniums, “Why would you lower yourself to be with such a person?” he asks, offering Eggsy the opportunity to vent more.

“I dunno,” Eggsy sighs in frustration, “Guess it gets lonely after a while? I was on /quite/ a dry spell before ‘im, not for the lack of tryin’. Just… always bad timin’, I guess. Got a little desperate and then next thing I know I’m roped into a long term relationship with Daniel fucking Cleaver.”

Harry turns to look at him, eye wide.

“Sorry, again, fuck… shit… sorry, okay,” Eggsy hides his face in his hands, “I’m a mess, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to rot your delicate flowers.”

“I think they’ll recover,” Harry says dismissively, setting the flowers on the table and reaching out to touch the younger man’s forearms, “He can’t have really been that bad, could he have? Perhaps he deserves a second chance.”

Eggsy pulls his hands from his face, staring at Harry with puffy cheeks and red eyes, “Try like the hundredth.”

Harry frowns, “Oh,” he says and nods, “I see.”

“I don’t even get why I even bother,” Eggsy glances away, “‘e’s obsessed with ‘imself, ‘e can’t commit to a damn thing, not even a job, and ‘e’s not even a good fuckin’ shag. The whole situation is the absolute worst.”

Harry lets Eggsy’s arms go, unable to meet his eyes so he turns back to continue gathering flowers for the arrangement - some foxglove and a few yellow carnations.

“Sorry, probably TMI for a gentleman like yourself.”

“A bit,” Harry admits, “But perhaps it’s something you needed to get off your chest.”

“Among other things,” Eggsy mutters as Harry turns back with some meadowsweet and begins putting together the flowers. The young man seems to have gotten the most of what he needed to say out there, and he’s silent for a few minutes before speaking lowly, “Caught ‘im in bed with another guy last night.”

Harry’s eye widens and he looks at Eggsy, then frowns. The man is absolutely beautiful, with eyes as conflicted between blue and green as any Florida spring, a jawline that would shame any other, sweet lips, and a strong chin. He can’t name, for the life of him, what would cause anyone to go out of their way to make such a creature unhappy.

And Harry’s only known him for a few minutes, but he can tell the boy has a soft heart.

He must be loyal to a fault if he wasn’t the one that cheated first.

“‘E comes over today tryin’ to apologize,” Eggsy says, hands in his jacket pockets, “You know wot ‘e says? ‘E says ‘e fuckin’ loves me, that ‘e was plannin’ to propose to me. Are you kiddin’? Plannin’ on proposin’? /Why/? Wot is the point there? Wot is-...”

Harry snips a few leafs here and there, listening as Eggsy goes on and on about it, offering commentary when needed.

It’s when he’s finished that Eggsy finally looks at the work he’s done.

“Oh my god,” Eggsy says, voice barely above a whisper as he reaches out to touch the bouquet, “Holy shit, this is…” he looks at Harry in awe, “I don’t use the word all that much, but ‘pretty’ comes to mind.”

Harry chuckles, hands folded together behind his back, “Yes, well, flowers are seldom anything less.”

“No kiddin’,” Eggsy agrees, “To think I’m gonna waste it on that wanker. ‘Ow much do I owe you?”

“It’s on me,” Harry says at once, bowing his head, “Something tells me you shouldn’t spend any more on such a dreadful person, after all he’s put you through. Just make me a promise.”

Eggsy lifts a brow, “Ya? Sure.”

“Promise me that you’ll raise your standards from now on, and that you’ll come back to purchase a bouquet for someone that truly deserves your love and affection.”

Eggsy smiles widely and holds out his hand, “Absolutely, I’ll do that, Mr. Hart.”

“Please, you can call me Harry, Eggsy,” Harry says warmly and shakes his hand, taking it in both of his this time.

“Suppose I should get this done an’ over with then,” Eggsy says as he takes the bouquet and winks to Harry, “Thanks for everything, Harry, yer the guvna’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This full fic was already posted elsewhere and has been for... quite some time. For full releases at once, visit my Tumblr @Cammerel to find out more.


	2. Chapter 2

Keeping his mind focused as he leaves the flower shop isn’t an easy task. Thoughts kept going back to the gorgeous florist, his secret smile and his warm gaze. Eggsy wasn’t really one to wax poetry, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t looking at the man with both eyes.

Harry had managed to somehow bring down Eggsy’s temper to a light simmer with only a few words. And the man looked damn /good/, even with the blacked out lense for his left eye, not that Eggsy was supposed to be looking - but sometimes it couldn’t be helped.

He held the bouquet in his lap, gently touching the flowers on the taxi ride through town, quickly paying the driver and stepping out before making his way up the front steps of the mansion.

The door opened after a long awkward minute or two standing in front of it, but at least Eggsy didn’t have to see anyone else as Charlie swung the door open and leaned against it.

“Ah, Eggy,” he says in surprise, “I wasn’t really expecting you back, and so soon after.”

“I’m only here fer a moment.”

“Are those for me?”

Eggsy nods, “Actually, yes.”

Charlie’s eyes widen a little, “They’re lovely, you want to come in?”

“Not really.”

“Look, I’m sorry about last night,” Charlie says as he reaches out to touch the flowers, “It was all a mistake, it really was.”

Eggsy narrows his eyes, “Yeah?”

“Well, you know,” Charlie shifts a little as he pulls back, “Being gone a week, I missed you and you weren’t there.”

“You missed me, so you went out an’ fucked another guy?”

“Well,” Charlie shrugs, chuckling, “Not just that, I guess,” he motions to Eggsy, “Probably doesn’t help that you’ve been getting a bit fat, actual-”

Eggsy takes the bouquet and smashes it into Charlie’s face, vase and all, water and loose petals dumping over his suit.

“What the /fuck/!”

“Go fuck yerself, you goddamn wanker pity fuck from hell,” Eggsy says, stepping hard on Charlie’s foot when he tries to stop him from leaving.

He shoves him, turning on his heel and storming out of the gates as he pulls out his phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This full fic was already posted elsewhere and has been for... quite some time. For full releases at once, visit my Tumblr @Cammerel to find out more.


	3. Chapter 3

“He did no such thing.”

Eggsy nods slowly, sighing into his beer, “I know I’ve been puttin’ on a few pounds-”

“More than a few,” Roxy says and smiles.

Eggsy throws her a nasty glare.

“It’s not an insult,” Roxy holds a hand up, “It really isn’t. You were so thin there that I was worried I might have to start force feeding you.”

“Only cuz I was starvin’ all the time.”

Roxy nods, “And now you’re not,” she holds her hand out to him, “So you’ve put on weight, you’ve been needing it. Maybe a bit more than you’d like, but I think you look good. Besides… ‘more cushion for the pushing’, right?”

Eggsy makes a face and shakes his head, “Gods I hate that sayin’ an’ it sounds real weird comin’ out yer mouth.”

“I mean it, though,” Roxy says and blushes, “You’ve got some thighs, a really nice arse, soft isn’t all that bad - especially during sex.”

“Of which I’ll probably be havin’ none of from here on ou’.”

“And why not?” Roxy narrows her eyes as she looks him over, “Gentleman florist sounded pretty attractive from what you said, why not go have a good shag in the lily patch?”

Eggsy winces, “I doubt he’d appreciate that. And not just cuz of the poor flowers.”

“Oh please.”

“That sort of stuff doesn’t happen in real life, Rox,” Eggsy insists as he shakes his head, “‘e’s way out of my league, and I doubt ‘e’d be up for it even if ‘e wasn’t, considerin’ I just got out of a long term relationship.”

“More like a long term /enslavement/.”

Eggsy lifts a brow at her.

“Did you ever love him?”

“Not for a second.”

“Did you ever /miss/ him?”

“No.”

“Did you ever go to sleep thinking about him?”

Eggsy nearly gags, “Fuck, no.”

“Do you miss him now?”

“Not at all.”

Roxy shrugs, “Then, as far as I’m concerned, you’ve been single the last..?”

“Five years.”

“God, you went out with that prick for five /whole/ years?”

Eggsy laughs, “I know, right?” he sighs and chugs his beer, “Pretty sure ‘e’s been cheatin’ on me a lot longer than this, too. An’ I was alone a lot of the time, ‘e just wanted me on ‘is arm sometimes for parties and the like.”

Roxy pats his back, “You’re better off without him.”

“You said it yerself,” Eggsy says, voice cracking, “Wasn’t never really with ‘im to begin with, not really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This full fic was already posted elsewhere and has been for... quite some time. For full releases at once, visit my Tumblr @Cammerel to find out more.


	4. Chapter 4

“You sure you didn’t make up the young lad in your head?” Hamish asks for what seems like the hundredth time.

And Harry assures him once more, “I doubt I could fabricate such a being in my wildest dreams.”

“Should I ever see him, I hope I’m not sorely disappointed,” Hamish says as he takes off his glasses and cleans them, “And what’re you goin’ to do about it, then? Because you’ve been driving me up the wall for weeks now.”

“I only met him two weeks ago.”

Hamish nods, “And I believe you called me the moment he left the shop. So yes, up the wall for weeks.”

“Hardly,” Harry says in annoyance and stands from his seat, “It’s pointless. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do in this situation, other than appreciate him from a safe distance.”

“And why’s that?”

“You want a list?”

Hamish chuckles, “Well, sure. Go ahead.”

“Well, let’s see,” Harry dries his palms on his napkin, taking a sip of his brandy, “I’m old enough to be his father, perhaps even his grandfather.”

“Age is a number,” Hamish argues, “Besides, don’t millennials often have daddy kinks and all that? I think that’s a pretty common and widespread phenomenon - silver foxes.”

“The generational gap would leave little for us to even be able to relate with.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

Harry resists the urge to roll his eye, as great as it is, “He just got out of a relationship.”

“Which you know was with a man, so you at least know he bats for the same team,” Hamish says with strained enthusiasm, “Besides, you said the guy was a complete prick and cheated on him. Could this young lad really have been in love with him?”

“Possibly.”

“Doubtful.”

Harry presses his lips together, breathing out of his nose for a long moment, “How about the fact that I’m damaged goods? Couldn’t fake a relationship to save my life, I’m hardly husband material-”

“Husband material? Who said anything about marriage?”

“-I don’t do short term relationships,” Harry raises his voice, “You know that better than anyone. I’m a retired spy with a short number of good years ahead, I have more PTSD than a war zone and my nightmares are enough to leave others petrified. I’ve never /been/ in a relationship before, never experienced companionship, never been in love. The closest attachment I’ve ever had was with a goddamn dog, for Christ’s sake; apart from you. Do you /really/ think a young man in his prime would have /any/ interest in someone like me?”

“Not with that attitude, no.”

Harry glares in annoyance, standing up from the table.

“You’ve had a stick up your arse for the better part of forty years,” Hamish says, standing as well, “All I’m saying is, you know, give something /else/ a chance up there before you lose your knees and your back, as well as your last eye.”

“Fuck off.”

“Oh, that’s quite charming.”

“Fuck off, Merlin.”

Hamish smiles sadly, “Perhaps you should give the young man a chance, maybe he’ll surprise you. Least of all, enjoy the flirting, if you can. Not many things in the world that can make /Harry Hart’s/ heart race, now is there?”

“Not really,” Harry agrees, trying not to feel completely bitter.

Hamish joins him, leaning against the counter as he sips the last of his brandy, “I know you didn’t go on honey pots, and I respected that, but I suppose I didn’t expect you to… actually be… virginal.”

“Oh fuck off and get out of my fucking house already, before I kick you out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This full fic was already posted elsewhere and has been for... quite some time. For full releases at once, visit my Tumblr @Cammerel to find out more.


	5. Chapter 5

Eggsy strolls into the flower shop completely differently than he had the first time. Before, he’d been fueled by rage and a sense of vengeance. Today, it’s more… nervousness, mostly. With some excitement peppered in.

He walks in, noticing the crowd and deciding it best to linger around the flowers instead of interrupting Harry while he works. He hates how he immediately feels butterflies in his stomach the moment Harry meets his eyes over the group, but he can’t help it.

Harry has a few employees, one of them working on an arrangement and another organizing what looks like the leftovers of one, so he walks further into the back.

Assuming Harry will find him when he’s ready, he settles in, sifting through a book of flowers and their meanings, curiously looking for some of the ones he remembers Harry grabbing for Charlie’s bouquet of what was /supposed/ to be passive aggression and ended up being a complete disaster.

He recognises one right off the bat, carnations.

_**Pink** \- gratitude or “I’ll never forget you.”_

_**Red**_ \- a _dmiration or my “heart-aches for you”_

_**Purple** \- impulsive or unpredictable._

_**White** \- especially on Mother’s Day, represents purity, “sweet and lovely”, and a woman’s good luck gift._

_**Yellow** \- means rejection or “you have disappointed me”._

_**Mini carnations** \- pure love or “my heart yearns for you”._

_**Side Note:** _

**__** _Solid colors say ‘yes’, while striped carnations say ‘no’ and express a refusal._

_Sometimes the meanings are conflicting, since striped carnations can, also, mean ‘sorry I cannot be with you’ or ‘I wish I could’._

Eggsy smiles to himself when he remembers the exact yellow color of them. /My, my, Mr. Harry Hart, you certainly know your flowers, don’t you?/

“Certainly you haven’t moved on /so/ quickly.”

Eggsy startles, nearly knocking over a vase as he turns to look at Harry, catching it and holding onto it with wide eyes, “God, scare the color from my skin, why don’t you?”

“Sorry,” Harry smiles softly, “Didn’t realize I was doing so. Are you here to request another arrangement?”

“Mm, nah,” Eggsy rocks back on his heels, “Really I mostly just wanted to say ‘thank you’. The flowers were lovely, they really were… until I threw them in his face.”

Harry looks affronted.

“I didn’t /mean/ to,” Eggsy apologizes, “They were absolutely beautiful and perfect and I never wanted to ruin them. But then ‘e told me I was gettin’ fat and… well… it just sort of happened, really. It wasn’t planned.”

“I beg your pardon,” Harry says in disbelief, “He told you what?”

Eggsy blushes, clearing his throat and shaking his head as he starts to set the vase down, “It’s nothing, really. /Really/, it’s nothing. God, I’m sayin’ that a lot. Wot… wot I mean is… they were so gorgeous and I’m an idiot, but I wanted to thank you for everything. I honestly would’ve kept them for myself if I hadn’t completely ruined them.”

Harry smiles again, letting out a warm chuckle, “Was it worth it?”

“Fuck yes, it was,” Eggsy says and grins, then apologizes to the flowers, “It was and it wasn’t, I mean.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because they really were a breathtaking arrangement of plants. I feel like a fool I didn’t appreciate them the way they should’ve been appreciated.”

Harry shrugs, “It comes with the territory, I suppose. You’re welcome, I was glad to arrange them for… a colorful personality such as yours. Not every day a young man comes in with such fire in their eyes.”

“Yeah, probably not,” Eggsy agrees, “Or maybe a different kind of fire.”

“Perhaps.”

“You work here all day?”

“Hm?” Harry lifts his brows.

Eggsy holds up his hands in apology, “I just mean… you was here that day bright and early in the mornin’, and here it is… almost time for dinner, and yer still here.”

“It’s hardly the same day, Eggsy.”

“You off soon?”

Harry stares at him, unmoving for a moment before asking, “Yes, actually. I was off ten minutes ago.”

Eggsy nearly clamps his teeth together.

/Do it, just say it, get it out. Say it, before you wimp out. If you don’t say it now, you might not ever./

/Wot’s the worst he can say?/

/No./

“Ah, I see.”

“Yes,” Harry agrees, hands in his pockets.

Eggsy stares at him, at that warmth in his eye, the soft expression, the /everything else/ about him, “So… uh…” he straightens his back, brows narrowing and focus setting. If he’s going to do this, he’ll do it like a man, dammit, “I wanna take you out.”

Harry lifts a brow.

“On a date,” Eggsy elaborates, “We don’t have to do it tonight, and you can totally say ‘no’ and turn me down, that’s fine. But I like you. I like you more than I’ve liked anyone in a while. Please don’t tell me you’re straight and married or widowed… or gay and married or widowed, or not interested, or asexual or something - because I get it and I’ll totally back off if that’s the case. But, if not… I wanna take you out.”

Harry smiles slowly and tilts his head just slightly, “Not straight and married, never been married, not asexual.”

Eggsy winces, “Is that a yes, or-”

“Eggsy,” Harry reaches out to a bundle of flowers nearby, organizing them silently and then taking out two of them, “You do realize that I’m old enough-”

“To look like everything I want and need right now?” Eggsy cuts him off, “Let’s not do that, okay? Yer old, I’m young, and I really don’t fucking care about either of those things.”

Harry chuckles, turning to him, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“Same here,” Eggsy swings his arms back and forth to try and get rid of the nervousness eating him up inside, “We got time ter do all that sharin’ an’ stuff over dinner. And if it goes well, maybe the following dinners after that. Alright? Bring it. I’m ready fer a fight, I ain’t heard nothin’ that I ain’t already heard before or considered myself. Seriously, I’m ready.”

“Let’s see how dinner goes /first/ then, shall we?”

Eggsy grins, “That’s a ‘yes’.”

“That’s a ‘yes’, of course,” Harry moves forward and touches his chin, reaching out and offering him the two flowers, “Why don’t you take these home, get dressed, and meet me here in about an hour?”

Eggsy blushes, eyes wide, “Y-... yeah, sure, of course, yeah… yes.”

“Very good.”

“Wot uh… casual or-”

“Casual will be fine, but perhaps a little less casual than you are now.”

Eggsy nods, looking down at the flowers as he takes them, “These are pretty, wot are they?”

“Daffodils.”

“I could take just one-”

“I would never give you a single daffodil, Eggsy.”

Eggsy’s brows knot in confusion, but he nods, “Well, alright,” he shrugs, “Meet you back here in an hour?”

“One hour,” Harry confirms.

Eggsy holds the two flowers close as he backs away, cheeks flushed before he rushes out of the flower shop. The sooner he’s gone, the sooner he’ll be back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This full fic was already posted elsewhere and has been for... quite some time. For full releases at once, visit my Tumblr @Cammerel to find out more.


	6. Chapter 6

The trip home is short, but not so short that he doesn’t have time to look up daffodils online to see what they mean.

A lot of what he finds is lengthy, dense as bollocks, but he eventually finds what he’s looking for.

_Daffodils are synonymous with chivalry and uncertainty. A nice way of showing respect, or that you fear that your love may possibly be unrequited - a subtler way of asking someone to return your affections. It is also associated with rebirth and new beginnings._

Further down, he finds mention of something Harry had said before:

_To receive a single daffodil implies ‘Misfortune’ whilst several daffodils mean ‘Joy and Happiness’._

_“I would never give you a single daffodil, Eggsy.”_

Eggsy shifts in his seat, smiling to himself and cradling the daffodils until he gets home and can throw them into a glass with some water.

He changes quickly, trying not to get his hopes up, but he doubts that Harry would ever /give/ him flowers without knowing their complete meaning and what they might convey. Who knew flowers could be so precise. They couldn’t be /that/ exact though, could they?

Did that mean that Harry was interested? That even /he/ felt that unusual pull between them that Eggsy felt?

Eggsy touches his chin mindlessly, remembering the warmth of Harry’s fingers on his skin.

Good god he was getting ahead of himself, wasn’t he? He’s hardly known the man for… do the weeks even count? They’ve spent all of a collected hour in one another’s presence.

They might not even really get along.

Eggsy starts burying all his hopes and expectations in the mud, sinking down in his seat until he gets to the flower shop and he climbs out of the taxi.

Then he nearly drops his jaw when he sees Harry standing there leaning against the wall, sunglasses on, suit buttoned and looking absolutely gorgeous. There was no way it wasn’t made to fit every inch of him perfectly. His long legs, his large hands… 

Eggsy swallows, stepping up onto the pavement, “Uh, hey.”

“Eggsy,” Harry greets him, motioning down the street, “Walk with me?”

“Uh, ya, alright,” Eggsy agrees easily, nearly startling when Harry offers his arm and Eggsy hurriedly takes it.

“There’s a nice place just down the road,” Harry motions ahead with his freehand, “If you’re up to italian cuisine.”

“Sounds good.”

Eggsy glances at Harry, then smiles to himself. God, he was connected to this gorgeous guy by the /arm/, for fuck’s sake it was so strangely domestic.

“You always wanted to be a florist?”

“Not always,” Harry admits, glancing at him, “First I wanted to be a lepidopterist.”

“A wot?”

Harry inclines his head, shifting them past another couple walking by them, “Someone who studies butterflies. But it only ever really became a hobby in the long run. By the time I found that I had the free time for it… I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

Eggsy frowns, “So ‘ow long you been into the flower business?”

“A few years now,” Harry tells him, tone soft, “Though it was always a small passion of mine, if I’m being completely honest.”

“Wot did you do before that?”

Harry nearly misses a step, looking at Eggsy with a wide eye, “I beg your pardon?”

Eggsy laughs, clutching onto him and helping him right himself, “I think I’m gonna make it my personal goal every time we’re around one another to get you to say that.”

“That’s hardly a goal.”

“You may be right,” Eggsy agrees, smirking, “But I love the face you make when you say it.”

Harry doesn’t seem half as amused as Eggsy is about it, but he at least humors the statement with what Eggsy can only assume is a playful glare.

“So?”

“Pardon?”

“Wot did you do before you were a florist?”

“Well,” Harry says after a long silent beat, “I’m afraid to say that my profession before I started making scathing bouquets, among other things, is quite classified.”

“Was you an escort?”

“I beg you-”

Eggsy laughs, “Kidding, sorry, didn’t know you would take offense.”

Harry looks only slightly ruffled, his cheeks pinkened, and he shakes his head, “My goodness, the… imagination you have.”

Eggsy shrugs, “Dunno, you said it was classified. Was you a spy or som’fin? MI6? Trained assassin?” he nudges Harry, “You hidin’ tats under all that posh fabric?”

“Hardly,” Harry chuckles, “And you’ve seen my arms, the very first day we met.”

“True,” Eggsy agrees, mouth watering, “Very nice arms.”

“Well, thank you.”

Eggsy stares up at him, “You retire on your own?”

“I did.”

“If you can’t tell me the job, can you tell me at all /why/ you decided to retire?”

Harry sighs, but it isn’t one of annoyance, it’s one of longing and sadness. He puts his chin up, staring ahead as they continue walking, “I was good at what I did. There shouldn’t be any shame in that, and I wasn’t, I’m still not ashamed of how I’ve led my life - what I’ve accomplished. But it did… leave its marks on me, perhaps as much as I left my marks on it.”

Eggsy frowns slowly, brows furrowing, “So you left… because you felt like you ‘ad no other choice?”

“Yes, I suppose that’s right,” Harry nods, “I was lucky to be a part of it as long as I was, but it cost me dearly. And I didn’t want to die doing it, even though I loved every moment of it all, and I wouldn’t take it back. I needed to know that it was something I /could/ leave behind, something I could grow past. Something I could recover from.”

“Yer eye-” Eggsy says before he can stop himself, wincing when Harry does the same, “Sorry, but… is that… work related?”

“It is.”

“Fuck,” Eggsy breathes out, pressing his lips together, “I’m okay with you not telling me. But… truth is, I’m sorry.”

Harry shakes his head, “Don’t be.”

“Nah, really,” Eggsy stops him, staring up at Harry, “Wot you did - whatever it was - sounds like it was important, not just to you but to others, likely. I’m glad it didn’t take yer life as well as yer left eye,” then he blushes and smiles, “Otherwise I suppose we might’ve never met.”

“Very true,” Harry agrees, then motions behind Eggsy, “This-... this is the place.”

Eggsy turns and looks up at it, “Ah,” he feels nervous suddenly, “Alright, suppose we go in now, yeah? And here I thought we might not have anything to talk about.”

“You thought that as well?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This full fic was already posted elsewhere and has been for... quite some time. For full releases at once, visit my Tumblr @Cammerel to find out more.
> 
> Lemme know if you wanna see more from this verse. This is the story I was aiming to tell, but I’m always open to writing more or little shorts if anyone is interested.


End file.
